diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 441774d2..65a6c466 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ jobs:
     env:
       LD_RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ inputs.releaseVersion }}
       DRY_RUN: ${{ inputs.dryRun || 'false' }}
-      CHANGELOG_ENTRY: ${{ toJSON(inputs.changeLog) }}
+      CHANGELOG_ENTRY: ${{ inputs.changeLog }}
+      CHANGELOG_JSON: ${{ toJSON(inputs.changeLog) }}
       GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       ARTIFACT_DIRECTORY: "/tmp/release-artifacts"
     steps:
diff --git a/scripts/release/commit-and-tag.sh b/scripts/release/commit-and-tag.sh
index e152c85a..037e623c 100755
--- a/scripts/release/commit-and-tag.sh
+++ b/scripts/release/commit-and-tag.sh
@@ -11,8 +11,23 @@ tag_exists() (
 
 update_changelog() (
   local ts=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
+
+  echo "raw changelog"
+  echo "$CHANGELOG_ENTRY"
+
+  echo "json changelog"
+  echo "$CHANGELOG_JSON"
+  
+  local changelog_body=$(echo "$CHANGELOG_ENTRY" | sed "s/\\n/\n/g")
   local changelog_json=$(echo "$CHANGELOG_ENTRY" | jq -r .)
-  local changelog_entry=$(printf "## [%s] - %s\n%s\n" "$LD_RELEASE_VERSION" "$ts" "$changelog_json")
+
+  echo "parsed with sed"
+  echo "$changelog_body"
+
+  echo "parsed with jq"
+  echo "$changelog_json"
+
+  local changelog_entry=$(printf "## [%s] - %s\n%s\n" "$LD_RELEASE_VERSION" "$ts" "$changelog_body")
 
   # insert the new changelog entry (followed by empty line) after line 4
   # of CHANGELOG.md